The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1887-11-12
WHY DO PEOPLE DROWNi
What a Well-Known Swimmer Has
to Say About 1t.
From the Pail Mall Gazette.l

The obvious answer to the above ques
ton is, because they cannot swim. But
Mr.. johnson, the well-known swimmer,
in the following interview, goes deeper
Il suppose" l remarked to Mr.. John
son, "that such cork rs yourself can
not quite understand how q person
sinks" "Oh, yes, but can. tits only
such as myself, who study the science
of floating, that can understand the
mystery of sinking, A swimmer be-
comes swimmer by endeavoring to
find out not SO much how to swim, as
how not to sink. Man or woman can
foat-there is no exception. The big
secret is knowing how, and being self.
possessed enough-that is, in cases OF
emergency-to take advantage of ones
knowledge. But directly the boat cap
sizes, or the canal bank subsidies, or the
sands shift, or the deep part of the river
uncomfortably asserts itself, the :gno-
rant mortal ignorant of how To use his
powers of bouyancy) sets about to sink
himself"
"Sinks himself, Mr.. johnson 2" I OBJ
served obviously. "Yes, sinks himself.
Up go his hands, and down he sinks
like hagstone. OF the ten thousand
and one frenzied actions in which q
drowning man INDUCES not one is there
that lends a title OF buoyancy. In the
first place he clutches at the proverbial
straw, and there is no surer way of sink
ing ones self than by thrusting the
hands out of the water. The conse-
quent lurch of the body strikes fatal
terror in the mans heart, he struggles
spasmodically, and then. bereft as he is
of all consciousness, vanishes to his
doom. Take, as al instance, the yacht
ing accident off Ilfracombe the other
day. A jovial party set sail in crazy
fishing smack. and an extra capful Of
wind upset her Instantly there was
chaos and confusion, as is always the
case, and fourteen luckless souls drown
ed themselves. 1t is simply suicidal for
a non-swimmer to risk his life in unoer-
tain craft"
Suppose, then, Mr.. johnson, that
you and ar cruising. The boat has
capsized; We are in the water. What
am 1, a non-swimmer, to dor" eff
there is anything floating catch at it
steadily. The least particle will sup
port you This beading (which was
no more than An inch square) would
keep your head above water. But if
there is nothing at all within reach this
is what yo' should do" At this juno
ture Mr.. Johnson sprang to his feet.
Throwing back his head, and placing
both hands in the small Of his back, his
form assumed slanting position. 80
long ms you remained Us / am now, SO
long would you float"
'Then it is not necessary for the re-
quirments of floating that ones toes
should be lcve! with his nosei" "Not
in the least. The mode of floating in q
moment OF emergency is as 1 have just
illustraSed-or, ut least, my experience
tells me that it is the safest and easiest.
1t would be an inconsiderable matter
for people to Iimiliarize themselves with
the principles of floating, and a simple
acquaintance with the subject might
prove to be of life long service. To he
of any real service, swimming must be
studied to perfection. A man or woman
is termed n good swimmer land the wo-
man and man comes to think 30 tool
who can manage, asay, a score lengths
of a bath 200 yards long. Here the
water is tepid and smooth, but it is diff
ferent at sea. How many yards would
that same swimmer traverse in troub-
lous watersl But the chances are that he
could float til rescued, which is always
the end sought after.